Ukraine exported 10.5 million metric tons of grain through the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta in the first nine months of the year, the port authority told Reuters on Tuesday.

Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest grain exporters and Constanta is the main route out for Kyiv’s crops since Russia quit a deal allowing safe passage from Ukraine’s own Black Sea ports.

The nine-month data compares with 9.2 million tons shipped in the first eight months of the year and the 8.6 million tons shipped in 2022.

It does not include volumes handled by Romania’s smaller Danube ports such as Galati, which bring monthly average volumes to more than 2 million tons.

The Romanian government has said it aims to double the monthly transit capacity for Ukrainian grain to 4 million tons in coming months, with investment in infrastructure ongoing.

Port operators are also investing in equipment to increase loading speeds. Ukrainian grain competes for space in Constanta, which traditionally handles Romania’s crop exports and those of its landlocked neighbours, including Hungary and Serbia.

Overall, the port shipped 25.1 million tons of grains in the first nine months, the authority said, matching its previous annual record high.

Kyiv has relied heavily on export routes along the Danube but Moscow has repeatedly struck Ukrainian river ports since quitting the Black Sea safe-passage deal in July, with exporters also turning to road and rail routes.

Earlier this month, on his first trip to Romania since Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a “corridor” would be soon be established to take Ukrainian grain to Romania via Moldova.

Source: Reuters reported by Luiza Ilie and edited by Kirsten Donovan